


Mouthful of White Lies

by neonstyxx



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, M/M, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 10:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5624191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neonstyxx/pseuds/neonstyxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you fall in love with your best friend, sometimes there are thing that gets in the way. Sometimes it's parents, sometimes it's money, sometimes it's society. With Minho and Newt it's none of the above.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mouthful of White Lies

**Author's Note:**

> I should be writing the road trip AU but here's a little something to mark the last day of freedom. Title is (again) from Halsey's song Ghost aka the first Halsey song I've heard.

School sucks, studying sucks, but at least he has Newt. Minho is in class, sitting back on his chair chewing bubblegum as discreetly as he can. The teacher is still babbling about photosynthesis or something, and the whole class is furiously writing everything down.

The whole class, except Minho.

Well Newt is not writing either, but Minho knows he’s taking notes too. In his own weird, freaky way of staring at the teacher intently and mumbling important words under his breath and quickly writing everything down at the end of the class. Nobody ever caught Newt doing this, somehow. If they caught him, he’ll be labelled as freak for sure and no more Mr. Golden Boy. Minho sighed. He hates biology, even the cutting up frogs part. He chuckles at the memory, looking at the girls screaming and cringing at everything, boys accidentally cutting too much and getting blood all over, and Newt. Newt carefully tearing the gross amphibian leg. Newt skinning the said leg and immediately putting it in some kind of clear liquid. Newt electrifying the leg and writing everything down on his worksheet. You’d never thought that you’ll find appeal in the sight of your crush electrifying a dead frog’s leg.

The bell rings, everybody immediately pack up and rush out, and Minho did too. He waited outside, laughing at how people bump into each other. Maybe if they got his agility, they won’t have to bump around so much.

“Come on, shank. Move faster or we won’t get that spot under the oak tree.” He said at the taller boy, who just exits the classroom, even though his tone doesn’t hold any venom in it.

“Wait, I need to get to my locker. Then we’ll go outside, yeah?”

“Sounds good.”

And off they go, side by side.

.

He never really remember how he met Newt. Maybe they met when they were kids, or maybe their meeting was so mundane and bland he just forgets about it. He doesn’t mind though, first meeting aren’t as important as the rest of their relationship. For example, swimming in the lake at mid-august is so much more important than their first meeting right? Or the time they snuck into a concert? Or even now, curled up in Newt’s sofa watching whatever it is on TV.

“Why are we watching Keeping up with the Kardashians again?” Newt groaned. “Change to Natgeo or something, Min. Gross.”

Minho laughed. “Because Kylie Jenner is bae af I mean look at her.” Minho fakes his enthusiasm, gawking over the image of Kylie Jenner. “She is so pretty.” He dramatically sighed, clutching the remote on his heart.

“You just wanna annoy me.”

“Look at her Newt! Eyebrow game on fleek!”

“Minho you’re gross stop that!”

“OMG GOALS!!!” Minho finishes in a high pitch, teenage girl squeal which ends abruptly as Newt attacks him and tackled the shorter boy to the ground.

“Give me the remote!” He laughed, trying to pin Minho down.

“No, I wanna watch Kendall slayin in her new outfit!” He laughed, rolling so that he got Newt pinned down. The both erupted into a laughing fit, the remote forgotten as it sits there next to the laughing lump of boys. As their laughter simmers down, Minho is finding himself staring at Newt again. He knows that staring can be weird. Staring can make things awkward between them, from a quite recent experience he had when they were watching the new Star Wars movie. But Newt was still giggling, and maybe he can stare until the blond stopped giggling.

“Stop staring at me, asshole.” And with that he finds Newt’s hand connecting with his cheek in a harsh shove.

Well that’s enough staring then.

“Jace! Minho! I’m home!” Newt’s mom called happily from the door, and Newt groaned.

“It’s Newt Mom, stop calling me Jace.” He grumbles, getting off of his place on the floor and toppling Minho in the process. The Asian boy yelped as his body meets the cool floor, making Newt cackle.

“But if you’re gonna be Newt then your father and I can be Newt also since that’s our _last name_.” She counters, setting out her groceries on the kitchen table when Newt entered the room to help. Minho follows shortly behind him. “Or should we be a family of Newts now?”

Minho laughed at this. “I doubt you want to be Newt, Mrs. Newton. They’re boring and gross.” He smiled politely. “The animal, I mean.” Minho quickly added when he sees his best friend glaring at him.

“Oh of course I don’t want to be a reptile—“

“Newts are amphibians, and they are not gross.” Newt cuts in, while putting in the new cereal boxes in the cupboard.

“Excuse you? Have you seen a newt, Newt?” Minho said. “They’re as gross as an animal could get.”

“Nothing beats the salamanders.”

“Yeah but newts are close second.”

“Since when you’re an expert at reptiles?”

“Since my best friend changed his name into Newt, also didn’t you say newts are amphibians?” Minho threw in a triumphant smirk.

Newt opens his mouth, then close it again. A blush crept into his face upon finding out his mistake. Behind them, Mrs. Newton is stifling a laughter. “It’s just a slip of my tongue.” He said quickly.

“It’s proof that you’re dumb”

“Your face.”

“Your face.”

“Alright boys! No more animal talks and get out of the kitchen, I wanna cook in peace.” Newt’s mom sighed. “Take out your laundry will you, Jace? You’re old enough to know when to do that.”

“Not old enough to do it though.” Minho smirked, making Newt glare again.

“Alright out of the kitchen you two!”

.

It was after dinner and they were laying on Newt’s bed. Bless Newt for doing the homeworks before watching TV, there is no way they could’ve move after Mrs. Newton’s amazing spaghetti. Not that Minho would know. He didn’t ate any, reasoning that he wasn’t hungry. He’s never really get hungry, and food just tastes gross. Newt and his family doesn’t mind though, so Minho never really think about his condition.

Newt makes a somewhat wheezing noise and rolls off the bed with a thump. Minho chuckles at his best friend’s weird antics, who was turning off the lights and retreating to his position on the bed next to Minho. He turned to face the Asian and kicked him. “Asshole.” He muttered as Minho groaned in pain. The lights from outside illuminated the room with a weird blue light, since it was filtered by Newt’s curtain by the bed. Newt looks beautiful in blue, Minho decided. Newt always looks beautiful to him. With golden hair and fair skin, the boy looks softer than the other boys in their grade. But even when punching the bullies square in the face, Newt looks beautiful. Like grungy fast streaks of an artist’s brush. Like art they saw at the local gallery last summer when they were looking for shelter from the rain. Like the abstracts and the realistic paintings and sculptures and everything Minho loves in that gallery.

But Newt is still so much more than that, more than the sum of all arts in the world’s beauty combined. There’s still his wit, his brain, his laughter, his smile, his anger, his strength, his tears, and really Minho can go on for days listing out the things he loves about Newt.

“I love you.”           The word slipped out even before Minho could think about it.

“I—what?” Newt shoots up into a seating position. Minho freezes in his place.

Silence. That wasn’t so bad right? So Minho dared to move forward.

“I love you, Newt.”

“Min, this is… we can’t do this. It’s—this is… no.” He shook his head, crushing Minho’s heart. “I’m so sorry.”

“Y-you don’t have to love me back.” Minho quickly adds, trying hard not to let his voice break. “I’m not asking for you to date me, well maybe later when—“

“No, Minho.” Newt looks at him, big glassy eyes locked itself upon Minho’s. “Not now, not ever.”

“I’m not that bad.” He pushes. “I can make you love me, I can!”

“You already did.” The answer came sharply. Minho wants to cry, wants to hug Newt tight and kiss him and ask him why.

“Then why…”

“Because you’re dead.” Newt blandly said, and Minho’s head spins.

“You moved next to us when you were 7…”

“No.”

“…there was a car speeding down, you were chasing your ball…”

“No, Newt, stop.”

“…the hospital. Your mum stayed there with you. You died on the fourth day…”

“Stop…”

“…the funeral, everyone was there, Thomas, Alby, Teresa…”

“That’s not true!” Minho doesn’t realize that he was crying, or shouting. His hands went to his hair, clutching for dear life. “You’re lying!”

“Yeah?! Then how do you explain your lack of hunger?” Newt shouts back. “How the teacher never collects your homework? Your parents never talking to you? Heck, how do you explain the way you’re practically walking _through_ people?”

“I-I wasn’t! I’m fast a-and agile and—“

“A ghost, Minho.” Newt says in a small voice, tears pooling in his eyes. “You’re a ghost.”

“But you… your parents…” Minho knows it’s a weak argument, but he refuses to believe. He can’t be a ghost. He’s alive.

“We’re odd.” Newt chuckled bitterly. “We can see ghosts, or things like that. Or at least me and mom can, dad never really says anything. He just agrees with us.”

Minho’s heart falls into the pit of his stomach. He lets the tears stream down his cheeks. He can remember that day. The red of the car, the black and white ball, his mother’s scream. He remembers pain, so much pain, and then none at all. And everyone was crying and wearing black and he remembers Thomas and little Teresa and there was little Newt and there was Mrs. Newton and…

He’s dead.

“And that’s why, Min.” Newt croaked out, wiping his tear away. “That’s why we can’t do this.”

.

When you fall in love with your best friend, sometimes there are thing that gets in the way. Sometimes it's parents, sometimes it's money, sometimes it's society.

Sometimes it's the lack of a mortal body.

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up on tumblr newtpuppy and let's talk about stuff. also thanks to pissedofsandwich for naming Newt! Also did you see what i do with the title and the ghost thing eheheh clever amirite.


End file.
